When Chris Creighton took over at Eastern Michigan in 2014, the Eagles had not had a winning season since 1995 and just one .500 campaign during that span. In his first 10 years, Eastern Michigan had four winning seasons and earned six bowl berths. While Creighton hasn’t totally turned the program around, the Eagles have been much more competitive since he arrived.
Last season, the Eagles went 6-7 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference, earning their third straight bowl bid. Two of the four MAC losses were by a touchdown or less. Once again, Eastern Michigan should be competitive this year in at least six of its eight league games.
The Eagles will be incorporating several new players including one at the most important position: quarterback.
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Eastern Michigan Football’s MAC Title Odds
Eastern Michigan’s odds to win the MAC are +3500, via BetMGM.
Eastern Michigan Football’s Betting Odds & Over/Under Win Total
Eastern Michigan’s win total Over/Under is 4.5, with Over 4.5 at -145 and Under 4.5 at +120.
2024 Eastern Michigan Football Schedule
8/31 at UMass
9/7 at Washington
9/14 vs Jacksonville State
9/21 vs Saint Francis
9/28 at Kent State
10/12 vs Miami (Ohio)
10/19 vs Central Michigan
10/26 at Akron
11/2 vs Toledo
11/13 at Ohio
11/20 vs Buffalo
11/30 at Western Michigan
Bold indicates MAC contests
Key Eastern Michigan Football Returners
2023 All-MAC First Team
P Mitchell Tomasek
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Eastern Michigan Football Adds A New QB Familiar With The MAC
Eastern’s Michigan’s new quarterback is extremely familiar with the MAC.
Sixth-year senior Cole Snyder began his career at Rutgers before transferring to Buffalo. He started every game for the Bulls the last two seasons, completing 57% of his passes for 5,139 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. Ironically, his final game for Buffalo was a 24-11 loss last season at home against Eastern Michigan.
The running game will be a work in progress. EMU’s leading returning ball carrier is Dontae McMillan, who rushed for 32 yards. One player to watch is sophomore Deion Brown, who ran for a 64-yard touchdown in the spring game.
JB Mitchell III is the leading returning receiver after catching 35 passes for 398 yards and one score. Jere Getzinger, who started 10 of 13 games, is back at tight end.
The defense allowed 26.7 points per game, which was 67th nationally, nearly in the middle of the pack. Eastern Michigan’s leading returning tackler is free safety Quentavius Scandrett, who was third on the team with 59 tackles while also recording a team-high two interceptions.
Leading the defensive line is Peyton Prince, who had 47 tackles, a solid number for a nose tackle. Price was also second on the team with four sacks. Fellow defensive end Justin Jefferson had a team-high 7.5 tackles for loss.
The key for the defense will be replacing linebackers Chase Kline and Joe Sparacio, who combined for an incredible 279 tackles last year. A newcomer to watch at linebacker is Coastal Carolina transfer JT Killen, who appeared in 55 games and made 198 tackles for the Chanticleers.
The Eagles have a dynamic kicking combination with first-team all-MAC punter Mitchell Tomasek, who averaged 45.7 yards per punt last year, and place kicker Jesus Gomez, who was 12 of 16 on field goal attempts including two makes over 50 yards.
2024 Eastern Michigan Football Season Prediction
I predict Eastern Michigan won’t win the MAC East and will win five games.
The Eagles should be competitive in the majority of their games, but turning them into wins will be challenging. Much rests with the play of Snyder at quarterback. He has been successful in the MAC during this time with Buffalo but will have to cut down on his interceptions. He threw nine last season.
The Eagles will also have to establish a running game, and the offense as a whole has to improve after averaging just 19.5 points per game last year, which was 117th in the FBS.
Last season, the Eagles went 2-2 in non-league games, and to get to five wins, they would likely have to do so again against UMass, Washington, Jacksonville State, and FCS Saint Francis. Eastern Michigan is likely to be major underdogs against the likes of Toledo and Miami (Ohio), but the other six MAC games could go either way. If Eastern Michigan wins half of those contests, then the Eagles would win five games in this scenario.
